Morgues are on the verge of overflowing. Hospitals have fewer patient beds per day. More than 1,000 people died.
Even so, in Santa Clara County, people can still buy perfumes, phones and clothes at the mall. It’s a big difference from almost a year ago, when the authorities shut down everything – all non-essential retailers, restaurants, schools and offices – to control contagious coronavirus, a disease that most scientists were struggling to discover.
Santa Clara County Health Officer, Dr. Sara Cody, made national headlines and won positions on CNN and other cable news networks for being the first in the country to issue a shelter order there, requiring residents to stay indoors for almost everything except the essentials – food, gas and medicine, for example.
The idea, Cody insisted against growing criticism, was to flatten the curve. It worked.
But now the COVID-19 cases are at an all-time high, the latest wave of new cases originating from people gathering for the holidays. So why are Santa Clara County restrictions more flexible today than they were in March – despite cases of COVID-19 outpacing any previous increase?
The answer is economic, psychological and political.
‘Shutdown fatigue’
Experts say health officials are approaching closings and restrictions more cautiously today, despite more people dying each day, due to pandemic fatigue and financial difficulties. Health leaders like Cody also faced extraordinary political pressure to reopen companies, further scrutiny and even death threats.
“There is a lot of fatigue from quarantine and a lot of fatigue from shutdown,” said Dr. Georges Benjamin, director of the American Public Health Association. “There are other implications for society when you do that, not just economic.”
Benjamin said health officials must weigh the economic and educational consequences when making decisions to close.
“Your kids don’t go to school and stay behind in class,” said Benjamin. “Children who receive free and discounted school meals may be more insecure about food. Obviously, the impact on the economy is that people who lose their jobs often lose their health insurance. “
There are some small – but notable – differences between the March 2020 shelter application at the March 2020 location and the one in effect today, which started on December 6.
In March 2020, health authorities closed schools, restaurants, cinemas, hairdressers and manicurists, canceled sporting events and non-essential retail. This time, schools with vouchers can continue and non-essential retailers and shopping centers can have up to 20% of their capacity.
Travel restrictions
One of the biggest sources of the recent increase in COVID-19 is travel and holiday dates, officials said. Another important difference between today’s restrictions and those of March is related to travel.
The current health order does not advise travel and requires people traveling 150 miles or more to be quarantined for at least 10 days if they do not experience symptoms of COVID-19. In March, authorities ordered an end to all non-essential travel.
“We know that the virus spreads when people move, when people are sharing space and air, reducing that should reduce the spread,” said Kat Saxton, an associate professor of biology and public health at the University of Santa Clara. “But people are also tired of COVID.”
Some health experts say the reason people ignored health officials’ advice on holiday travel is because employees preached abstinence instead of harm reduction.
McGill University law professor Daniel Weinstock writes in a study that if people were given measures to reduce the risk of disease transmission during the collection period, they would feel empowered – not forced – to make rational decisions. And fewer people would neglect security measures.
Business violations
Despite fewer companies closing this time, a county spokesman said enforcement for criminals had increased. Commercial compliance officers monitor and fine establishments for violating COVID-19 health protocols.
Health experts added that counties neighboring Santa Clara County must follow suit with orders from local shelters to be consistent and effective. The neighboring county of San Mateo, for example, did not begin to follow the order of stay in the state’s home until December 17, almost two weeks after Santa Clara County.
“It’s like the barrier for a county’s health department to make decisions without the other surrounding areas,” said Saxton. “People are obviously crossing county boundaries, so how effective can a county be without a more regional approach.”
Contact Mauricio La Plante at [email protected] or follow @mslaplantenews on Twitter.